U.S. 3rd Inf. Division Scout Observation Squadron

[FRISCAN]

Evening,

 

Heres some photos of the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division's Scout Observation Squadron attached to the various field artillery battalions under the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division's Artillery Headquarters section.

 

A good book for reference into the life of the Scout Observation pilots with the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division is the book:

 

"Grasshopper Pilot: A Memoir" by Julian William Cummings

 

Mr. Cummings flew 485 missions in two theatres of operations during World War II in both L-4's and L-5's. I believe the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division was the first division to implement the Scout Observation Squadron element combined with the field artillery for direct fire missions.

 

I hope everyone enjoy these photos of the L-4's belonging to the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division....

 

Enjoy...

 

 

Notation: Devol's Piper Cub awaits the historic test flight from the improvised runway built on the deck of LST-386 at Lake Bizerte, July 4th, 1943, before heading off at full throttle.

 

 

Notation: Success! Captain Devol proves that Piper Cubs with be able to take part in the imminent invasion of Sicily by piloting the first plane to take off successfully from the deck of an LST.

 

 

Notation: Staff Sgt. "Smitty" Smith(Left) and Bill in front of Smitty's Cub, Wilma Elaine.

 

 

Notation: Martha Raye and Bill in North Africa, next to his Piper Cub, Maggie the Faithful.

 

 

Notation: This photo was taken at Cavalaire France 1944. The pilot in the picture is Wilfred M. Boucher, formerly of the 41st Field Artillery.

Boucher had an extra fuel tank, and when he switched over to it an air bubble caused him to stall out and plop in the ocean. The navy put him and his plane on the beach.

 

 

Notation: Group of pilots and mechanics in front of "Janey" on the flight deck of LST 906 in the harbor at Naples, Italy. Photo was taken the day before the August 15, 1944 invasion of southern France. (Top row, left to right:) Alfred W. Schultz, W.H. "Fred" Boucher, Edwin "Irv" Rosner, Hubert N. Boone, W.A. "Bill" Richards, Robert N. Peterson, Arlie E. Schumacher, Warren T. Reis. (Bottom row, left to right:) Theodore J. Royston, David P. Guthrie, William K. Baker, George W. Desrassers, John E. Samsa, Wesley W. Kelly.

 

 

Notation: L-4's belonging to the U.S. 9th, 10th, 39th and 41st Field Artillery Battalions lined up and stowed aboard an LST.

 

 

Notation: An L-4 belonging to the U.S. 39th Field Artillery Battalion sits next to the snow strip near Riedwihr during the Colmar Pocket campaign.

 

 

Notation: An Army Piper L-4 Cub artillery observation plane takes off from LST-386 at Anzio, 1944.

 

 

Notation: Invasion of southern France, St. Tropez, circa August - September 1944. The photo of LST-906 came with the attached message:

 

"Here is the photo of LST-906 with Capt. Alfred "Dutch" Schultz as pilot of 'Janey' the L4B Piper Cub artillery spotting plane. This information comes from Dutch Schultz's book "Janey: A Little Plane in a Big War". Dutch was the Pilot of the plane that my Dad flew in and took pictures for the 3rd Division. I met him last year and he remembered my Dad from more than 55 years ago. The Seabees converted the LST-906 into a homemade aircraft carrier, which was used in the Invasion of Southern France at St. Tropez."

 

Hope all enjoy...

 

Kind Regards,

FRISCAN

[Custermen]

Good info and photos.

 

I have a book written by a GI with the artillery of the 34th Infantry Division who kept a diary and a camera. He took photos of the LST with the flight deck for L-4s.

 

Another good book written by an observation pilot is:

 

"Alone and Unarmed" - by Ernest Kowalik. Staff Sgt. Kowalik was a Army pilot for the 88th Division's artillery ---the only pilot who was not an officer. He flew an L-4 Piper Cub to spot for the artillery; he was the pilot and the observer. Sgt Kowalik tells it like it was without any distracting dialogue.

305 pages, many photos, small index. Glenn Curtis Press, 2005. ISBN 0-9763058-0-1

 

Steve

[Bob Hudson]

The Military Channel is running a documentary about the "L-birds" with some great footage including film of takeoffs from the LST's.

 

It's called "L-Bird: The Little Plane That Did." It premiered tonight (Nov. 14) and is scheduled to air again Nov 15, 12:00 am Eastern Time.

[Cobrahistorian]

Great stuff on a very under-appreciated topic! I just posted some L-bird pilot stuff in the latest finds section. The two uniforms just completed a huge grouping I've got from a XX Corps L-4 pilot who also flew L-19s in Korea.

 

Always good to see other Aviation Section Artillery stuff!

 

Jon